Bumpy Bunn Avenue a bane to Lee school

Lee Elementary School, 1201 Bunn Ave, has about 260 students and houses three different programs. Three early childhood special education classes are at ...

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About Lee Elementary School

Lee Elementary School, 1201 Bunn Ave, has about 260 students and houses three different programs. Three early childhood special education classes are at Lee with 60 total students, ages 3 to 6 years old. Lee also provides special education services for other students ages 5 to 22. Regular education courses for kindergarten through fifth grade are offered as well.

The path for drivers to Lee Elementary School, 1201 Bunn Ave., could be getting less bumpy.

The owner of Bunn Avenue, where drivers say the potholes at times are more like craters, was sent a letter March 12 by the city of Springfield to fix the street, according to Public Works Director Mark Mahoney.

Mahoney said the letter accuses the owner — SLM Properties of Hammond, Ind. — of violating city code. The letter orders SLM to respond within 10 days with a plan to fix the street.

If not, the city could pursue legal action, which city spokesman Nathan Mihelich said could include a request for injunctive relief from a court or a fine.

A phone number listed on the website www.manta.com for SLM Properties was not in service Wednesday.

“It’s an access easement, so they have a responsibility to maintain it,” said Mahoney, who acknowledged the city has sent the company a letter before that was ignored and not pursued by the city’s legal department.

Turning onto Bunn Avenue off the South Sixth Street Frontage Road is the only way to get to Lee Elementary School, also the home of a soccer field used by the three public high schools.

The problem over the years, school officials say, is that Bunn Avenue is not the responsibility of the city or Springfield School District since it is owned by an out-of-state company.

Darrell Schaver, director of operations and maintenance for District 186, said workers have patched it as best as possible over the years, including once last week.

“We still have more to do,” Schaver added.

There haven’t been many days since he took over as Lee principal in 2012 that Nathan Kochanowski said he hasn’t been asked about the potholes.

It’s a problem especially disturbing given that Lee educates a number of special-needs students in wheelchairs who get jostled every time they’re on the bus, he said.

Kochanowski said potholes even dominated the conversation at an award ceremony last spring at the school attended by about 70 to 80 parents.

“Parents kept asking me, ‘What is the district going to do about the potholes?’ ” he said.

The condition of Bunn Avenue also surfaced at Monday’s school board meeting.

Interim Superintendent Bob Hill in his report told the board he was pleasantly surprised, after a dreadful winter, that the condition of school parking lots wasn’t as bad as he imagined.

Questioned about Bunn Avenue, Hill acknowledged it’s been a problem for years. At one point, district officials even explored creating another entrance road, he said.

Hill suggested the district look at partnering with the city and county to take ownership of the property through eminent domain.